New discoveries surrounding Stonehenge

Some of the many secrets of Stonehenge will be revealed at a public lecture to mark National Archaeology Week at The University of Queensland.

University College London’s Institute of Archaeology Professor Mike Parker-Pearson will shed new light on the purpose of Stonehenge at the annual Hall Lecture on 24 May.

Professor Parker-Pearson has worked in Britain, Denmark and Madagascar, specialising in the study of Neolithic and Bronze Age society.

The public lecture — now in its seventh year — honours Emeritus Associate Professor Jay Hall who established the archaeology program at UQ in the 1970s.

Lecture organiser Professor Marshall Weisler, of UQ’s School of Social Science, said Professor Parker-Pearson’s work was widely cited and he was recognised as a leading authority on death and symbolism in the prehistoric world.

“Since 2003 archaeologists have carried out a major investigation – the Stonehenge Riverside Project – to find out more about this intriguing archaeological formation,” Professor Weisler said.

“Recent scientific developments are now revealing new insights into the lives of the people themselves, many of whom travelled long distances from across Britain.”

Professor Parker-Pearson will discuss discoveries from the project, including a large settlement near Stonehenge, thought to be the builders’ camp, a new stone circle ‘Bluestonehenge’, and the remains of people buried at Stonehenge.